No sooner do you walk out of the Commandant's office than you notice that the rings you were wearing have vanished. You don't even feel a tingle, just look to see they are gone. That brings a surprising sense of reality to this journey. No longer are you simple initiates. You are now on a real mission for the Shadow Tower.

The walk to the Sceptre Tower takes a few hours, but is fairly easy. You pass the spot where you and the Green Team battled. Unsurprisingly, though it has only been a day, there is no evidence anything ever happened there. There are no blood stains where combatants fell, not even footprints on the dirt road. You pass through Ravengro, heading south. The southern road looks very similar to that between the Shadow Tower and the town. It is hard-packed dirt lined with simple forests and meadows. There is no sign of life other than some bird song. Finally, you reach the Sceptre Tower.

The Tower is covered in runes, and stretches more than 70 feet above your heads. Stairs lead from the ground to an entrance a couple of stories up. It is surrounded by ruined walls, suggesting that this is the remaining keep of what was once a very strong fortress. So overtaken are you by the sight that it actually takes a couple of moments to notice the bodies of guards wearing the livery of the Shadow Tower lying near the bottom of the staircase. Stopping to listen, you hear no sounds of battle, and a closer examination of the bodies indicates they have been dead for some hours now.

Cautiously, you proceed up the stairway, finding the large wooden double doors unlocked and wide open. Four watchmen wearing tunics with a white rose on them are in the large antechamber. Two sit playing at dice with a stack of gold coins on the table between them. Two more lean against a wall, but are paying enough attention to warn the others. All draw short swords, wondering what the interruption is about. You see hand crossbows hanging by their sides, as well. The room is fairly bare outside of the table and a small fire burning in a fire pit next to it. Another set of doors leads out the back, but those are closed.

Not seeing anything that concerns him, Corvan puts action to his words and rushes two of the guards, sliding his shield behind him on the way. His blade hums and his fist pounds before he readies his shield again, awaiting the retaliation.

OOC: Given the combination of Master of Arms feat and Battle Harness property, I'm doing the equipping/unequipping as free actions per previous discussions. Flub on yellow. Assuming I hit blue, sliding it into the fire at H8, and Corvan gets +1 AC/REF from his ki focus (reflected in "current defenses" below. Marking both.

Deadly Draw: Whenever you pull or slide an enemy to a square adjacent to you, you gain combat advantage against that enemy until the end of your next turn.

Basic Attacks

The following attacks respectively already include +1 24h, +1 charge.

Basic Melee (Unarmed): 1d20+10;1d8+4

Basic Melee Charge (Unarmed): 1d20+11;1d8+4

Basic Ranged (Repeating Crossbow): 1d20+8;1d8+3

Powers/Item Powers During Play

Combat Agility

Combat Challenge

Footwork Lure

Grappling Strike

Weapon Master's Strike

Disrupting Advance

Forceful Drag

Funneling Flurry

Second Wind

Shove and Slap

Item Powers

none yet

Items

Items

Adventurer's Kit

Mountain Ki Focus Forceful: pull/push/slides with attack powers increase by 1 square, Shielding: when hitting at least one target with an attack power gain +1 AC/REFLEX until start of next turn

Greatspear +3/1d10, polearm/spear/reach

Singing Stick +3/1d6, offhand/defensive/mace

Longsword +3/1d8, heavy blade

Repeating Crossbow +2/1d8, 10/20 range, crossbow

Widow's Knife +3/1d4, 5/10 range, offhand/light thrown/lightblade

Battleaxe +2/1d10, versatile/axe

Heavy Shield +2/+2 AC/REFLEX, heavy shield

Hide Battle Harness +1 As a free action, you can draw a sheathed weapon or retrieve a stowed item. You gain a power bonus to initiative equal to the itemís enhancement bonus.

Healing Potion 10 hp, lose one surge

Skills

Acrobatics 8 (trained), 6 with heavy shield

Arcana 1

Athletics 9 (trained), 7 with heavy shield

Bluff 0

Diplomacy 0

Dungeoneering 1

Endurance 5 (trained), 3 with heavy shield

Heal 6 (trained)

History 1

Insight 1

Intimidate 5 (trained)

Nature 1

Perception 1

Religion 1

Stealth 3, 1 with heavy shield

Streetwise 0

Thievery 3, 1 with heavy shield

Descriptions of Powers

Combat Agility Opportunity Action, Trigger: An enemy adjacent to you takes an action that provokes an opportunity attack. Effect: After the triggering enemy completes the action, you shift a number of squares equal to your Dexterity modifier. You must end the shift closer to the target than you were when you began the shift. Then make the following attack. Target: The triggering enemy. Attack: Strength vs. AC. Hit: 1[W] + Strength modifier damage, and you knock the target prone.

Combat Challenge hit or miss an enemy you can mark it, Immediate Interrupt Melee, Effect: Whenever an enemy marked by you is adjacent to you and shifts or makes an attack that does not include you as a target, you can make a melee basic attack against that enemy.

Grappling Strike Melee touch, Requirement: You must have a hand free. Target: One creature, Attack: Strength vs. AC, Hit: 1[W] + Strength modifier damage, and you grab the target. The grab ends automatically at the end of your next turn.

Weapon Master's Strike Melee weapon, Target: One creature, Effect: Before making this attack, you may sheathe a weapon and draw a different one as a free action. Attack: Strength vs. AC, Hit: 1[W] + Strength modifier damage. In addition, the target takes an additional effect based on the weapon you wield. Axe: The target takes extra damage equal to your Constitution modifier. Mace: You slide the target 1 square. Heavy Blade: Until the end of your next turn, you gain a +1 power bonus to AC against the targetís attacks. Spear or Polearm: Until the end of your next turn, the target provokes opportunity attacks from you when it shifts.

Disrupting Advance melee weapon, Target: One creature, Attack: Primary ability vs. AC
Hit: 2[W] + ability modifier damage, and you push the target 2 squares. The target and each enemy adjacent to the target at the end of the push are slowed until the end of your next turn.
Level 11: 3[W] + ability modifier damage.
Level 21: 4[W] + ability modifier damage.

Forceful Drag move, Requirement: You must have a creature grabbed.
Effect: You move your speed. For each square you move, you slide a creature grabbed by you 1 square to a square adjacent to you. The creature remains grabbed, and you do not provoke an opportunity attack from the grabbed creature for this movement. At the end of the move, you can end the grab to knock the creature prone.

Corvan's attack misses one foe, but pushes the other into the fire. (1d6+1=4, 1d6+1=3 4 fire damage for entering, 3 for starting turn) As the watchman screams in pain, another yells toward the back doors. "Help! We are being attacked!" The watchman Corvan missed shifts to one side and readies an attack for his companion, who moves from the fire to take position on Corvan's other side. Fortunately for Corvan, both swords miss wide. He does find himself unable to take his attention off one of them, though (marked by Yellow). The two watchmen by the wall draw their hand crossbows in their free hands. Two bolts scream toward Corvan and unlike the sword blades, both find their marks. (17 total damage). They then move over toward the melee.

Hammer's charge is mighty, but his yell is even more fearsome. The already slightly crispy enemy, now bleeding, falls back into the fire 1d6+1=2. Two others also are scared by the metal man screaming and stumble backwards (only red was missed). The back doors open. Two more heavily armed and armored soldiers come through, also with white roses on their breasts. One (orange) can only approach the melee, but the other pulls a crossbow and fires at Hammer, penetrating his arm for 8 damage.

Tchort takes a moment to contemplate things, but by then the battle had been started in ernest. Why would someone leave the dead guards at the bottom of the stairs for almost anyone to find? Why not don their cloaks and try catching someone like us unawares? Who uses that insignia?

With a snarl towards Corvan, Tchort glides through the room. Seeing the furthest soldier shifting his weight nerviously, Tchort reaches forth his mind and attempts to cause him to slip into Dwimmerlaik's reach. Suddenly, the soldier lurches forward, giving Dwimmerlaik a chance to connect with his icy blade. Sensing a chance to turn the tide of the battle quickly, Tchort swirls his hands, and draws upon one of the many powers he learned in training, summoning brimstone and fire in the midst of his enemies. Looking upon his handywork, he smiles at Corvan, almost taunting him into a second wind. "Good plan. Perhaps you can help clean up?"

Tchort causes one of the soldiers to stumble its way directly into the path of Dwimmerlaik's blade. Ice again compliments fire, as both that soldier and one of the watchmen are singed by fiery rain, the soldier beginning to bleed from his wounds and burns. (Miss on orange and red.)

Tchort looks carefully at the white rose sigil. While he cannot come up with any religious significance to it, he remembers that in his arcane history courses with the Head Wizard, the white rose was used as the insignia for a branch of zealots within the Barony of Lepidstadt, located to the south. These zealots wished to rid the world of all evil, but took a very broad approach, typically meaning anyone not human or worshipping a deity of good. However, it was believed that the movement died out with the end of the war with Carlstadt. He can also tell that these are just low-level soldiers, probably unaware of anything more than being tasked to guard the entry to the Tower.

Koliak can only grin at seeing how the soldiers have ended up all bunched together. Good work by the crew. 'I may not even have to move.' says Koliak to himself with a chuckle.

Concentrating on the bunched up group of soldiers, Koliak holds his orb outwards, and with his off-hand he pushes his hand forward, palm out, fingers extended. The area explodes with psychic energy! All four of the soldiers are affected. One of the soldiers finds himself in the fire, having been lifted into by Koliak's manipulations. The soldier can't do anything but burn some more. Some of the others, find themselves moved as well. The whole area is scrambled with psychic energy.

Koliak then gestures with an open finger and another of the soldiers finds himself sliding into the fire, then aghast, back into the magical argent rain. Poor soldier finds himself just the puppet. A fiery one.

OOC: Nice use of the zone. I figure I should lay out my vague plan in dropping the zone. If one or more melee characters can close on the zone and threaten the enemies inside it, they will have the choice of shifting out of the zone between us, staying put for 5 damage, or suffering an OA to move out the back of the zone. If they shift forward, I should be able to push one back into the fire on my turn.

Koliak hits all of the enemies clustered together, teleporting them out of the zone, one into fire. (OOC: Forceful Push is only 1 square. It does not benefit from your petrified implement, as it is not an attack power. Thus, I just teleported Green outside the zone for the time being. If you would like, you can use FP to slide one of the dudes back into the zone. For the time being, I put green at I11 per Viktor's request, but if you wanted to slide him back in, I can change that and put the baddies anywhere.)

Jak notices that one guard isn't paying as much attention to the whole battle as he should. Jak rushes him and gives him a powerful shove, directly into the sinister fire Tchort conjured. Jak raises his voice to the heavens and calls upon the Divine Strength of Dol Dorn to grant him power. With his deity's boon, Jak brandishes his holy symbol and blinding light stabs out at the arrayed enemies. Those enemies in the fires are completely preoccupied, and remain unaffected, but the other guard and soldier are not so fortunate. Dol Dorn's holy light sears into them and leaves them impaired and in pain. Jak calls out a challenge to the soldier standing in the fire, "Come to me human, we shall see if you are worthy of life!"

OOC: I checked the compendium and it doesn't say anything about a move being included in the bull rush, but I've always assumed you needed momentum to accomplish it. If that is not the case, I'll forgo turning my move into a minor to challenge and move to h12 before the bull rush attempt.

Jak barrels into a watchman, knocking it back into the flames. His call to Dol Dorn is answered, and a soldier drops dead. (OOC: The bull rush hits, knocking green into the zone for 5 fire damage (see power description). Red is bloodied, purple is dead. Corvan is up.)

Deadly Draw: Whenever you pull or slide an enemy to a square adjacent to you, you gain combat advantage against that enemy until the end of your next turn.

Basic Attacks

The following attacks respectively already include +1 24h, +1 charge.

Basic Melee (Unarmed): 1d20+10;1d8+4

Basic Melee Charge (Unarmed): 1d20+11;1d8+4

Basic Ranged (Repeating Crossbow): 1d20+8;1d8+3

Powers/Item Powers During Play

Combat Agility

Combat Challenge

Footwork Lure

Grappling Strike

Weapon Master's Strike

Disrupting Advance

Forceful Drag

Funneling Flurry

Second Wind

Shove and Slap

Item Powers

none yet

Items

Items

Adventurer's Kit

Mountain Ki Focus Forceful: pull/push/slides with attack powers increase by 1 square, Shielding: when hitting at least one target with an attack power gain +1 AC/REFLEX until start of next turn

Greatspear +3/1d10, polearm/spear/reach

Singing Stick +3/1d6, offhand/defensive/mace

Longsword +3/1d8, heavy blade

Repeating Crossbow +2/1d8, 10/20 range, crossbow

Widow's Knife +3/1d4, 5/10 range, offhand/light thrown/lightblade

Battleaxe +2/1d10, versatile/axe

Heavy Shield +2/+2 AC/REFLEX, heavy shield

Hide Battle Harness +1 As a free action, you can draw a sheathed weapon or retrieve a stowed item. You gain a power bonus to initiative equal to the itemís enhancement bonus.

Healing Potion 10 hp, lose one surge

Skills

Acrobatics 8 (trained), 6 with heavy shield

Arcana 1

Athletics 9 (trained), 7 with heavy shield

Bluff 0

Diplomacy 0

Dungeoneering 1

Endurance 5 (trained), 3 with heavy shield

Heal 6 (trained)

History 1

Insight 1

Intimidate 5 (trained)

Nature 1

Perception 1

Religion 1

Stealth 3, 1 with heavy shield

Streetwise 0

Thievery 3, 1 with heavy shield

Descriptions of Powers

Combat Agility Opportunity Action, Trigger: An enemy adjacent to you takes an action that provokes an opportunity attack. Effect: After the triggering enemy completes the action, you shift a number of squares equal to your Dexterity modifier. You must end the shift closer to the target than you were when you began the shift. Then make the following attack. Target: The triggering enemy. Attack: Strength vs. AC. Hit: 1[W] + Strength modifier damage, and you knock the target prone.

Combat Challenge hit or miss an enemy you can mark it, Immediate Interrupt Melee, Effect: Whenever an enemy marked by you is adjacent to you and shifts or makes an attack that does not include you as a target, you can make a melee basic attack against that enemy.

Grappling Strike Melee touch, Requirement: You must have a hand free. Target: One creature, Attack: Strength vs. AC, Hit: 1[W] + Strength modifier damage, and you grab the target. The grab ends automatically at the end of your next turn.

Weapon Master's Strike Melee weapon, Target: One creature, Effect: Before making this attack, you may sheathe a weapon and draw a different one as a free action. Attack: Strength vs. AC, Hit: 1[W] + Strength modifier damage. In addition, the target takes an additional effect based on the weapon you wield. Axe: The target takes extra damage equal to your Constitution modifier. Mace: You slide the target 1 square. Heavy Blade: Until the end of your next turn, you gain a +1 power bonus to AC against the targetís attacks. Spear or Polearm: Until the end of your next turn, the target provokes opportunity attacks from you when it shifts.

Disrupting Advance melee weapon, Target: One creature, Attack: Primary ability vs. AC
Hit: 2[W] + ability modifier damage, and you push the target 2 squares. The target and each enemy adjacent to the target at the end of the push are slowed until the end of your next turn.
Level 11: 3[W] + ability modifier damage.
Level 21: 4[W] + ability modifier damage.

Forceful Drag move, Requirement: You must have a creature grabbed.
Effect: You move your speed. For each square you move, you slide a creature grabbed by you 1 square to a square adjacent to you. The creature remains grabbed, and you do not provoke an opportunity attack from the grabbed creature for this movement. At the end of the move, you can end the grab to knock the creature prone.